China Maritime Study Centre Launch in London

The new China Maritime Centre in the University of Greenwich will study China's role as a major maritime nation in the 21st century

The new China Maritime Centre will promote, disseminate and study the role of China as a major maritime nation in the 21st century, with the aim of contributing to the understanding of China’s rise as a maritime power.

It will provide a focus for research and consultancy into a wide variety of maritime activities in which China is prominently involved. This research and consultancy, embracing both current and historical trends, will promote a deeper understanding of how China’s greatly enlarged role relates to, and is a key component of, the global maritime industry.

Benefiting from a strong connection with the maritime industry and academic institutions in China, especially Shanghai Jiao Tong University, there are plans for a range of studies.

Topics which may be investigated include: China’s national maritime policy and its global impact; the development of the Chinese owned and controlled merchant ship fleet; employment of the Chinese fleet in international and coastal trade and its significance for China’s overall import and export trade; comparisons with other maritime nations; China’s shipbuilding and recycling; port developments within China; maritime labour in China and its contribution to the global market for seafarers etc.

The Centre, to be headed by Dr Minghua Zhao, will be launched on 20 July 2012 onboard Huan Tian which is the first Chinese traditional sailing vessel to arrive on the Thames for 164 years.